"27 Dresses" delayed by week to January 18 (Reuters)

File photo shows Katherine Heigl reacting backstage as she holds her award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her role in 'Grey's Anatomy' at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, Sept. 16, 2007. Fox will delay the release of '27 Dresses' until Jan. 18, the first day of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, citing an overwhelming response to sneak previews for Heigl's romantic comedy. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Fox will delay the release of "27 Dresses" until January 18, the first day of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, citing an overwhelming response to sneak previews for the Katherine Heigl romantic comedy.

Moving the opening weekend from January 11 allows the studio to maximize holiday sales, get in another round of nationwide sneak previews January 13, and offer the film as a clear alternative to sci-fi thriller "Cloverfield" and the comedy "Mad Money," which are also opening that weekend.

The "27 Dresses" sneak previews played December 27 to 539 theaters nationwide, with 27 of those previews featuring models wearing bridesmaid dresses adorned with the film's title and credits, a Fox representative said.

"Grey's Anatomy" star Heigl plays a woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times and who re-examines her "always a bridesmaid" lifestyle when her boss (Edward Burns) gets engaged to her younger sister (Malin Akerman). Burns also stars in the teen horror "One Missed Call," which opens Friday.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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